tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post8001024791477230885..comments2023-06-01T21:15:57.354-11:00Comments on The H Does NOT Stand For Habs: Grading the GoatJ.T.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00012075493503316318noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post-83430540242641237212011-02-09T04:48:47.834-11:002011-02-09T04:48:47.834-11:00I couldn't agree more with your assesment. I c...I couldn't agree more with your assesment. I can't help but think that a solution to many problems the Canadiens are experiencing would be a better supervision of the young players (including the draft picks). Claude Ruel did that job for a long time (in between coaching assignments)and many players that later became stars gave him credit for their improvemnent.<br /><br />Now, would today's youngsters be willing to remain on the ice a few hours more each week in order to improve their skills, remain to be seen. Another important thing to consider is that the night life in Montreal is much more attractive for a rich and somewhat popular young man than the anonymity of many US hockey cities.Paul B.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post-17683705138930758982011-02-09T03:19:57.441-11:002011-02-09T03:19:57.441-11:00I'm happy with PG's decisions. For the Hal...I'm happy with PG's decisions. For the Halak/Price thing, I was right in the middle on that one...I didn't want to be in PG's shoes. I was comfortable with both goalies, even if Price did have a horrible season, but I wouldn't have been able to pull the trigger on that trade. Credit to PG for that.<br /><br />The Moore trade was a good one at the time, I agree, and it seemed like a waste to let him go...but we lucked out on Halpern, so that can "fix" the trade.<br /><br />The trade I do not like is the O'Byrne trade. I don't know if it's Jacques Martin's fault and what not, but I did not like to see O'Byrne leave the Habs. It was the best thing for him, for sure, but if the Habs had given him some time to re-gain his confidence, he would've been fine. I guess the Avs are a better fit for O'Byrne and I'm glad he's doing well over there...<br /><br />If I were to grade PG's work, I'd give him a B+Hadulfnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post-90394688430546011302011-02-09T02:11:00.120-11:002011-02-09T02:11:00.120-11:00Excellent assessment, J.T., and overall I agree wi...Excellent assessment, J.T., and overall I agree with you. The Halak trade was a huge gamble and took a lot of nerve, but even at the time I thought it was the right move. Whether Gauthier could have gotten more remains an open question, but on the evidence so far, he certainly chose the right goaltender. Those who think he should have insisted on a roster player in return for Halak forget that such a player would have had a much higher cap-hit than Lars Eller. Also, while Eller has perhaps not had much of an impact so far, he shows every sign of developing into a very solid player. He skates well, he's very strong on the puck and in the corners, he makes good decisions, and he shows flashes of brilliance. We won't really know how good a return we got for Halak for at least a couple of years.<br /><br />The same is true of Gauthier's other moves. As you point out, he traded players who weren't doing well with the Habs for depth. The fact that the players traded are playing in the NHL while none of the ones we acquired are does not prove the transactions were bad.<br /><br />Gauthier's only questionable moves, in my opinion, were the deals involving Ryan O'Byrne and Sergei Kostitsyn, and the problem lies less in Gauthier's moves than in the way these players were handled by the organization. I think that if the coaching staff had shown more confidence in O'Byrne, he could have developed into a solid defenceman. And of course the injuries to Markov and Gorges make the trade look bad. As for Sergei, Barry Trotz has obviously found a way to get the best out of him. We still don't know exactly what went wrong for him in Montreal, but an obvious blunder was the way he was singled out and cut from training camp last year after the other cuts had been made. That had to rankle and exacerbate whatever attitude problems he had. <br /><br />Apart from these two cases, I think Gauthier has done an excellent job so far, and the position of the team in the standings, as well as the character and will-to-win the guys have shown support this.JFnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post-32773937522489801662011-02-08T15:39:15.611-11:002011-02-08T15:39:15.611-11:00JT,
Another thing that sticks out to me is his ha...JT,<br /><br />Another thing that sticks out to me is his handling of Pacioretty and the radio interview. I remember him saying something to the effect that he did not hear the actaul interview, but if Max said he wanted more high end playing time, then he agreed. He said young players tend to get cold when they sit for too long and he thought increased ice time would work for Max.<br /><br />Many people were calling out Pacioretty saying he should perform his role a la Darche. But Darche is a veteran with an older, more experienced mind set, who understands his role. I thought PG did right by his youngster and we are starting to see Pacioretty blossom a bit at a time. This also may send a positive message to the other young players developing in the system.<br /><br />I was in the group that thought if he gave a second for Moore, he should have signed him. I hope he does that with the Wiz, that would make the trade so much better!DKerrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02445386772250841397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post-46604217388835586492011-02-08T14:17:37.025-11:002011-02-08T14:17:37.025-11:00Great read J.T.
The other thing I like about Gaut...Great read J.T.<br /><br />The other thing I like about Gauthier is that he has represented the Habs' quiet class. He's no self-aggrandizing blowhard like they have way west down Ontario's 401.moemanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07714585748102791365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post-81509536603777083422011-02-08T04:29:10.876-11:002011-02-08T04:29:10.876-11:00Great review! I have to agree with your final stat...Great review! I have to agree with your final statement... I DO feel comfortable with the GOAT's GM abilities.<br /><br />P.s.: I still stuck on your Martin's Secret Note item #9 - Muller Muller bo buller, banana fana fo fuller, fee fi mo muller, Muller!<br /><br />I LOVE IT!!!RLnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3435571560723564995.post-36042395995276006482011-02-08T00:02:28.010-11:002011-02-08T00:02:28.010-11:00Good article. Agree with your assessment. On balan...Good article. Agree with your assessment. On balance he has done a good job and I have confidence he will keep us on the right track over the mid term.<br /><br />I especially like how the Price situation turned out for him... that was an enormous gamble on his part. The margin of error on that was so tight that just reversing Price/Halak stats this year might mean we are 10 points lower in the standings. His job (and Martin's) was riding on that decision. I wonder how many of those that criticize him would be willing to gamble their jobs on one big decision like that.<br /><br />Feels like a good match between (what I perceive to be) his temperment and the team. We have a solid core of vets and promising youngsters that calls for a steady hand on the till with course correction as needed.Vnoreply@blogger.com